Battered Wings
by RAINRAIN9
Summary: Four years prior to the first Kingdom Hearts installment. Darkness has been spreading amongst the worlds for years, slowly falling into the dark realm one after the other. The survivors vow to never forget and set themselves forward towards a new life.


_The heartless didn't emerge from an explosion, they didn't swarm the kingdom all at once, there was no grand event to mark where the invasion began exactly._

 _There weren't any warnings, no announcements, no explanations. The heartless first came with the rain, a light drizzle in the night._

 _Then the screams began._

 _The town stirred in their beds as they heard the screams of their neighbors. Some immediately going outside on their own, only to be jumped upon by various small shadows that clawed at their chest. Others checking their children, hoping that if they stayed inside they'd be ignored by the outside chaos. In one such home a young boy jolted awake at the shouting._

 _"_ _Mom?" He called out, grabbing his childhood blanket and carrying it with him towards his bedroom door. "What's going on?" He rushed out of his bedroom, jumping back upon seeing his mother coming up the hallway. Her curly blonde hair tied back as she marched up to him. It was weird to see her face in a tight frown instead of a smile._

 _"_ _I need you to go to the forest," She stressed. "Go above the town and do not look back," She demanded, her red eyes glaring into his pink. When he nodded, she sighed with relief and placed a quick kiss to his forehead. "Make sure you fly," She added, standing to her full height. The two curved horns stretching outwards above her ears causing her to appear more menacing than he knew her as. The thought causing his orange wings to flap nervously behind him._

 _"_ _What about you and Dad? Can't he carry you and we fly together?" He asked, noticing his father's absence._

 _She shook her head and herded him towards their back door. "You need to go Justin!"_

 _His felt his eyes burning up with tears as he tried to understand, "What's going on?" He shouted._

 _The harsh shattering of glass caused him to look away towards the window. Shadow-like creatures were beginning to crawl in. The powerful burst of heat erupted beside him as his mother set flames towards the creatures. Justin took a step back away from the scene, fear filling him. He felt his teeth, longer than they should be, nails sharper than usual biting into his palms._

 _"_ _Go!" He heard his mother yell as she walked into the flames towards the approaching creatures._

 _He hesitates, hoping she'd come back. But she doesn't._

 _He turned to run only to feel his legs stuck underneath him. He gasped seeing the rising pool of darkness that increasingly grew up his legs. "Mom!" He cried out to the growing flames before being covered completely._

The first thing he heard was the murmur of voices. The smooth undertone of music. The brunette boy groaning as his pink eyes crack open. His blurred vision is greeted with close hues of red and brown. Blinking he pushes himself up to stare at the bricked ground in confusion. Why wasn't he in a bed? He remembered he was heading to a bed…

He jolts at the realization, remembering the shadows that were chasing him. He glanced about quickly, realizing he was laying in the middle of a courtyard. He frowned at the other occupants, seeing that no one batted an eye to the teen on the ground. Two large lamp posts were ahead of him, another boy who looked about his age paced between them. Only the occasional mutter of "Mother will be fine" was all that Justin could hear from his current distance. Out of habit, he looked behind him to see two ridiculously large wooden doors. The sight of a dirty yellow bundle on the ground caused him to pause. Brown eyebrows furrowed as he reached out and pulled it towards him,

"Blankey?" He asked quietly, afraid someone would hear as he observed the soft bundle. Unfolding it with care, he held it up to view in full. What was probably once a bright yellow crocheted baby blanket, was now dull with several tears and holes scattered about. Enough damage that all edges were frayed and barely held a rectangular shape. Relieved to have recognized something as his, he quickly bundled it back together and held it tight to his chest.

Warmth filled his cheeks when he realized he was still out in the open. Strangers or not, he didn't want people to know he held onto his baby blanket despite being 15. He frowned noticing the dark splotches that appeared around his blanket and stood to look down at himself. Two tawny legs stuck out from black shorts that reached his knees. Various scratches covered his legs along with dark markings, if it was dirt or bruises, he wasn't sure yet. The white T-shirt he had was covered in dirt and the black markings as well. He felt panic rise in him as he outstretches his wings for him to inspect. The orange wings felt fine unfolding but he had to be sure. Despite the appearance of dried blood on one of them, he didn't seem to have any tears thankfully. Wings folding back Justin sighed with relief before gazing at the courtyard once again.

Even though the courtyard seemed peaceful, he didn't recognize it like he hoped. He rubbed the back of his neck as he scoped out the area once more. Several large bright signs were scattered to each of the stores. The closest being the Item shop to the left of the stairs and an accessory shop resting directly above them. Maybe he'd remember more if he walked around. Someone could at least tell him where he was he reasoned. He eyed the other boy who was pacing and decided to go towards the item shop instead for somebody.

The soft music he had been hearing when he first woke up was becoming more clear as Justin approached a cafe he had previously missed. An open dining area was built inwards just ahead of the shop. Each of the empty the tables holding an unrelenting lit candle. Justin's eyes focused on the source of the music, two men who seemed to not have noticed his entrance, or simply didn't care. Either way, they gave no attention to him as they continued about their playing. The older of the two was standing behind a younger man as he played the trombone. The younger sat on a wooden bench as he played the piano with a small smile. Justin shuffled his feet, he didn't want to interrupt their performance but… His gaze swept back to the pacing boy in the middle of the courtyard, he didn't really have much options right now.

Justin walked towards the pair, stopping several feet away just in case.

"Uh," He coughed, "Excuse me?" He asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"You lost your home too, huh?" The blonde at the piano inquired, barely glancing at Justin. His partner, an older man barely gray, continued to play regardless.

"No! Well, I don't think so at least." Justin admitted, rubbing his neck again in worry. He couldn't see the pianist's face at a frontal view, but he could see the dark lines underneath his eye.

"You must've or you wouldn't be here." The older boy shrugged, continuing to play on the piano.

"But-" Justin started and stopped, noticing the pair didn't seem interested in continuing the conversation. "Whatever." He huffed, turning away as his ears burned with embarrassment. Deciding to skip the Item store, he climbed up the stairs, looking between the two paths. He felt tears prick his eyes again as the blood in his ears began to muffle the background music as he tried to figure out where he was.

"Mom?" He shouted, walking towards the left. "Dad?" He stopped seeing the dead-end alley. He sniffled, rubbing at his face harshly in frustration.

"Hey!" A voice barked from behind him, causing the brunette to turn. "You okay, kid?" He asked, in a gruff but not unkind voice.

A different blonde man than before stood beside the accessory shop, his arms crossed over his much cleaner white T-shirt. A small girl with short black hair peaked out at Justin from behind the man's baggy blue pants.

Justin shook his head staring at the pair, pulling his wings further against his back in fear. He hiccupped, as his body began to shake. He was tired. And confused. He just wanted his parents.

The man stepped closer towards him, "You're lost too." He stated, placing his hands on his hips as he saw Justin nod in agreement. "C'mon, kid. Let's get you cleaned up," He offered holding out a hand. "The name's Cid."

Justin sniffled again and went past his hand to hug the man around his waist, burying his face into the man's chest. "I want my mom!" He cried, shaking with relief that an adult was helping him.

Cid and the girl's eyes both widened, both from Justin's actions and from noticing the pair of wings poking from his back. Cid patted the kid on his head, unsure if he'd hurt the wings if he patted him on the back or not. "I know you," He shook his head, "I know, kid." Gently pushing the kid away from him by his shoulders, Cid grinned down at him. "Hey, how about some food? How does that sound?" He asked.

Justin nodded, still sniffling but feeling better in the presence of an actual adult. His parents would be disappointed in him for trusting strangers so easily. But other parents were okay, right? He glanced at the girl, her wide violet eyes and black hair a direct opposite of the man's bright blonde hair and blue eyes. They seemed nice, and they were helping him.

"Alright then, let's go." The man said, adjusting the toothpick in his mouth as he gestured for the kids to follow him. The girl bouncing alongside him easily.

Justin shuffled to follow, but he must've been too slow for the girl as she came back and grabbed one of his hands in her smaller ones. She grinned at him, showing a big gap in the front of her smile as she pulled him along closer to Cid. The trio passing the accessory shop in favor for another pair of wooden doors, oblivious to the star going out above them in the night's sky.


End file.
